It has been an extremely active new homes season," says Ken MacDonald of Hooke & MacDonald. "Particularly in the first-time buyer section but also in the trade-up sector, like Fairways which launches this weekend. There is a very strong demand from families who are expanding and moving from smaller accommodation such as apartments.

It has been an extremely active new homes season," says Ken MacDonald of Hooke & MacDonald. "Particularly in the first-time buyer section but also in the trade-up sector, like Fairways which launches this weekend. There is a very strong demand from families who are expanding and moving from smaller accommodation such as apartments.

"There is a good market for secondhand apartments, they can sell them easily and afford to buy a decent four-bedroom or even five-bedroom house," MacDonald continues.

"Also there are a lot of Irish people returning home from abroad back to Ireland."

Today Cosgraves, with Hooke & MacDonald as selling agent, are releasing the first 30 houses - large four- and five-bedroom family homes - of their newest development.

Fairways at Cualanor is based on the site of the former Dun Laoghaire Golf Club, where Cosgraves have a number of developments underway. Fairways will eventually total 78 four- and five-bedrooms houses.

The site has pedestrian access to Tivoli Road, via Eglington Park, and is set on the seaward side of the old golf club.

As with all their developments, landscaping has been prioritised here. The grounds include a meandering woodland walkway, a six-acre park, open spaces, a piazza, jogging paths, and a large children's playground.

Ground floors in these homes comprise of an large open-plan living area, including living, dining and kitchen spaces which lead out to a rear garden that includes a patio area and landscaped garden.

There is also a separate lounge area on this floor. An additional family room is included on the first floor.

All bedrooms are doubles, with wardrobes by Cawleys Furniture. The master suite includes an en suite and walk-in wardrobe.

Kitchens have contemporary fitted units with Victoria quartz worktops from Nolan Kitchens. All appliances are included as per the showhouse. The utility room includes a worktop, sink and cupboards, and is fitted with a washing machine and tumbler dryer as per the showhouse.

In the bathrooms, shower enclosures and heated towel rails are included, as is tiling in all wet areas, as per the showhouse. Both four- and five-bedroom units have two family bathrooms, one with a bath, one with a shower.

Each house has a number of USB charging points, and comes with two parking spaces, and an e-car charging port.

Cosgrave homes are market leaders in terms of energy efficiency. The hotpress space on the first floor in these A-rated homes includes the heat recovery ventilation system that works with passive house features to deliver high quality energy efficiency and consistent fresh air flow.

The developers are now in a position to release estimated figures as to the cost of living in a new home built under the current regulations. The daily cost of living in a Fairways home, including VAT, standing charges, and public service obligations is estimated to be less than €4 a day.

The Adler, a four-bedroom plus study, is priced from €795,000 and runs to approximately 205sqm. The five-bedroom Birch is priced from €885,000, and is sized at approximately 227.5sqm.